San Bernardino -
Fire-ravaged terrain in the path of this week's Blue Cut fire was still smoldering when CalFire assessment experts fanned out into the damaged area, trying to figure out what exactly was destroyed and what it would cost to replace it.

San Francisco -
Insurers expect to pay out $1 billion in losses to California property owners from the Valley and Butte fires in September that killed six people and damaged more than 2,500 structures.

Washington D.c. -
The U.S. government is considering legislation that would ban smoking on public housing land nationwide, and this includes homes, communal areas, and administrative offices within these areas.
The ban could affect about one million homes.

Boston -
Police and several alleged victims have confirmed that a man, nicknamed the tickler, has been breaking into homes of students who live near Boston College, and tickling their feet or watching them sleep.

The Internet of Things (IoT) appears to be revolutionizing connectivity, and if successful in implementation, it’s poised to change how we experience the Internet completely. Expect sectors such as real estate to feel the IoT ripples.

Naperville -
Legal or not, real estate brokers are using small drones to sell multi-million dollar homes, according to several media reports. In some cases, tiny drones fly inside the mansions to film the interiors.

Lahore -
After a Christian man was accused of blasphemy, a mob of angry Muslims attacked a Christian neighborhood in Lahore, Pakistan on Friday and Saturday. Families fled for their lives, and 175 homes, 18 businesses, and 2 churches were torched.

Paris -
A leading real estate agency has revealed in a report that more than 400 €1million ($1.28 million) homes have been put on the market since France elected Socialist leader Francois Hollande as president. Are the rich fleeing the 75 percent super-tax?

In an act of undisguised frustration, the owners of homes awaiting government repossession have taken it upon themselves to damage their properties as a kind of retaliation for what they see as an injustice to their livelihoods.

American homeowners will altogether lose $2 trillion in home value by the end of 2008, according to real estate experts at Zillow.com. The worst performing markets were in California while the best market was in Jacksonsville, N.C.

A program open to New York State residents offers a service to help them buy their first homes. However, Catholic Charities says that people are not taking advantage of the program for various reasons. The program offers $10,000 towards a first home.

A British company has created tiny turbines that generate enough electricity to power two homes or a small office of 20 persons. The tiny turbines can be easily installed on roofs, and are ready for distribution through German energy giant, RWE.

A company in the U.S. has created a solution to transform an enormous amount of waste into electricity and says it has Environmental Protection Agency’s approval. This company is the first to make energy from waste as an operation in the U.S.